Why are the Pohlads selling?

No family member has spoken publicly since the announcement, so the dynamics of the "thoughtful consideration" they gave it this summer remain unknown. But the family — Carl Pohlad's three sons and their eight children, presumably not all of them rabid baseball fans — surely must have been tempted to cash out an asset whose value has grown exponentially over the past decade. Forbes valued the Twins at $168 million in 2004, $605 million in 2014, and $1.47 billion last summer. That's a lot of money in exchange for not having to hear your family regularly excoriated over the failings of a baseball team.

Who will they sell to?

Thursday's announcement was essentially a casting call for potential buyers, and the family has hired Allen & Co., a well-known broker of sports transactions located a half-dozen blocks from MLB's offices, to sort through the responses they expect to receive in the coming days and weeks. The firm also figures to have an active list of billionaires who have previously shown interest in purchasing other teams. Though Joe Pohlad has expressed his desire for the team to remain in the hands of Minnesotans, that's not necessarily a deal-breaker.

How long will this take?

Identifying a buyer and settling on a price is only the first step. Assuming the family chooses to go ahead with the sale, MLB's security office will undertake an investigation of the buyer to ensure that his or her finances and personal history meet its standards. A committee will examine the report and vote on whether to approve the sale, and MLB's eight-man executive council will do the same. Assuming there are no hang-ups, a full vote of team owners, requiring 23 yes votes from the 30 teams, could be taken next spring or early summer.

Will the Twins move?

They're a relocated franchise themselves, having moved from Washington in 1961, so fans' fears are understandable. But it's unlikely, especially given their stadium situation. As the Minnesota Ballpark Authority, which owns Target Field, noted on Thursday, it "has strong lease and use agreements with the team, having just concluded the 15th season of the initial 30-year lease term." Several teams have also begun developing commercial areas around their ballparks, and though it's not easy in an urban neighborhood, there may be some opportunities here attractive to a prospective buyer. In recent years, MLB is also far more reluctant to allow franchises to move than it once was. In the past 50 years, only two teams, the Montreal Expos to Washington in 2005 and this year's Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas (eventually), have relocated, both the result of untenable and unfixable stadium situations. Target Field is not that. And the league hopes to expand soon, so owners will be reluctant to allow existing teams to claim potential expansion sites.